Treatment of submental fat reduction with the use of deoxycholic acid: literature review

Abstract

One of the most prominent aesthetic procedures in the area of orofacial harmonization is the reduction of submental fat (chin and neck). A non-invasive treatment widely implemented in these cases is the ATX-101 (deoxycholic acid). Thus, the objective of this review is to address the use of ATX-101 in submental fat. On the grounds of this, a data collection was realized using the articles indexed in the scientific database PubMed which was carried out in the last five years on the topic. A total of 21 articles were selected that met the purpose of this review. It leads to the conclusion that the use of deoxycholic acid represents an innovative non-surgical method to treat unwanted fat from the submental area, but requires a broad knowledge of facial anatomy for application. The literature reported the following most common local adverse effects in drug use: edema, hematoma, pain, numbness, erythema, paraesthesia, and hardening of the region.